Peace In The Midst Of Turmoil

PEACE. In this day and age it is almost an unknown factor. Just a word in the dictionary. In my short life time [Though I am much, much older than you.] I have seen it go from short times of peace between wars such as world war 1, world war 2 and the Korean war to complete world turmoil.

You know as well as I that nearly every thing is in turmoil. Agitation between workers and management. Disagreement between students and teachers. Demonstrations for any and every reason. Senseless homicide and massacres. And constant displays of anger. Even something as simple as driving down the road may get you shot because some one does not like the way you pick you nose or something.

It may surprise you, but about two thousand years ago Jesus Christ told us this period of time was coming. He said, "'And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places; All these are the beginning of sorrows." This was recorded in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 24. And in another place speaking of the same period of time he said, "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken." This part was recorded in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 21.

Does that sound like today? Or do you have your head stuck in the sand. My friend, it is going to get worse - much worse. It is going to get so bad that mankind would wipe himself clear out. But God is going to put a stop to it just before we destroy ourselves.

It was Jerry W. McCant who said;

“In a world filled with causes for worry and anxiety…we need the peace of God standing guard over our hearts and minds.”

PEACE. That is the purpose of this hub. It is possible for you to know genuine personal peace in this very difficult time, despite what your circumstances are. I have had many of the same problems you have, even staring death in the face for a number of months. But I have had a peace that passes understanding through it all, as has millions of other people. Follow with me to see how.

First we want to discuss what we mean by "peace". We live in an age of of deception and fraud. An age of extravagant or excessive promotion. Or an age of "Hype". How many products have you purchased that simply do not live up to the promises made about it's performance? Or consider even the excessive use of adjectives regarding articles on the internet in an attempt to get you to read them. Awesome, jaw- dropping, speechless, skin crawling, terrifying, cringe, catastrophic, stealthy, scary, going insane, unbelievable, alarming, Mind-Blowing, breathtaking , mesmerizing. And yet out of all these, there has not been even one that; dropped my jaw, left me speechless or took my breath away.

Even most "religions" offer a form of peace. But then most "religions" are simply a man made effort to reach out to God. That's not good enough for me. I do not want something that is man made, but something beyond myself. Something God made.

My point is, I want a real satisfying peace. Not hype. Not something that I have manufactured. Not something that depends on me to tough it out or hang in there. Here is the kind of peace I want.

"And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7 GNT)

Billy Graham said it so well when he said;

“Peace is not arbitrary. It must be based upon definite facts. God has all the facts on His side; the world does not. Therefore God, and not the world, can give peace.”

Let's go after that peace.

“There is a state of perfect peace with God which can be attained under imperfect obedience.” ---- John Owen

God cares about his children just as any parent cares about their children - and the decisions they make. The decisions we make have an extreme influence on our lives. Those decisions often will make us, or break us.

But God does not leave us on our own, if we are willing to pay attention. God directs us in a number of ways. But the way we are interested in right now is - PEACE. He states through the apostle Paul:

"The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in one body. And be thankful." (Colossians 3:15 GNT)

If we will seek God's will on a matter, and are truly seeking his will, not our own, then he most often gives us a peace about the matter. A deep peaceful settled peace about the correct way to go or act. Generally if we feel pressured or hurried about the the choice we are making - the pressure is coming from the wrong source.

Now we want to consider the source of God's peace.

PEACE. Real, genuine, satisfying, lasting peace. Where does it come from?

We can go to the coffee shop, or take a vacation to the mountains or sea shore and find a measure of tranquility. But this is not a lasting peace. It is dependent on our location. Then when we return home, the same problems and pressures exist. True, I have a "hideaway" myself to get away from it all. But that does not give me the deep lasting peace I need to make it through life. We want a peace that goes far deeper than my location.

If you needed a tool to do a job, would you go to the toy section of Walmart? They would have plastic saws, hammers, screwdrivers and drills. And they would be a lot cheaper that real tools. Of course you would not. In our search for peace, that is the way "religion" would be. It might look like the real thing. But it won't work. I know, the word "religion" means a lot of different things to different people. By "religion" I mean: rituals, routines, ceremonies, mantras, obedience to laws, good works, and good thoughts etc.

For the kind of peace we want we need to go to the very one who gave you life it's self. The very creator of the universe - JESUS CHRIST. He created us, gives us life and even died for us because of his love for us.

Jesus said;

"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I I've you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid." (John 14:27 GNT) and,"I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world." (John 16:33 GNT)

He gives us a peace that the world cannot. And that peace is by being united to the creator. How can we be united to Him?

Nate Saint give us a clue when he said,

"…We must give ourselves to him if we are ever to have peace in our hearts and the hope of Glory.”

“The secret of peace within and power without, is to be always and only occupied with Christ.” E. Schuyler English

How to get that peace. I fear that I might make it too complex, because it is extremely simple. Let's take this approach. God through the apostle Paul said;

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 5:1 NKJV)

Notice the key is "faith". And you answer, "But I do not have any faith." O yes you do. Every person has faith. You cannot live with out it. Even an atheist has faith. A faith that there is no God. And every one of us has faith that there is not a lion outside our front door, or that the car will start, or that we can make it to work, or that the medicine we are taking will work, or, or...

A second key. "our Lord Jesus Christ". A "Lord" is "1 a person having great power and authority ruler; master" according to Webster. Whether we like it or not, Jesus Christ is Lord of lords and King of kings. But, is he your Lord? Jesus is Lord. But until we are willing to submit to his "Lordship", we might just as well go fly a kit.

We have to take our faith (believe) that Jesus came down and lived a perfect life, died in our place becoming a sacrifice for our sins and failures. Another way of saying it is;

"...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ... For 'whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,'" (Romans 10:9,10,13 NKJV)

Jesus Christ loves you enough that he died for you. Confess your need and failures to him. Then ask him to come into you and take control of you. If you permit him to become the Lord or ruler of your life, he will bring his peace in with him. That is the peace you are after.

“There may be those on earth who dress better or eat better, but those who enjoy the peace of God sleep better.” -L. Thomas Holdcroft

Jesus Christ said;

"Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 GNT)

Christ wants to carry your burden for you. Many places in the Scriptures we are told to take our problems and burdens to God and quit worrying about them. But these Scriptures will suffice.

"Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart." (Philippians 4:6 GNT) and.

"Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7 GNT)

"You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on you. Because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV)